PILLI PIPA DHOW, the genuine product, snorkeling tour to Kisite Marine Park

A brilliant experience, great to learn about the reef and see it coming back to life. Watching a pod of dolphins swim past us in the water was one of the best experiences of my life! The crew were mindful about respecting the natural habits of the dolphins at the same time as giving us the experience. The lunch was a fab experience and also delicious! Thank you.

our family enjoyed the snorkeling. the captain of the boat was responsible, and the staff on the boat actively looked after our children in the water to make sure they snorkeled well and returned to the boat. the air-tubes of the snorkel had some black spots from mold so see if you can bring your own

A lovely day on the Indian Ocean, two hours of snorkelling followed by an excellent lunch.

Excellent service and amazing experience, right from pick up to drop off. Lucky to swim with Dolphins, and amazing food and hospitality at their restaurant. My kids loved it. We shall be back soon.

Fantastic for luck of a better word

Good snorkel experience, but I was disappointed in the lack of education about reefs, the park, wildlife, and conservation. The staff did not advise to use reef-proof sunscreen or provide it. Could have been a much more informative trip.

Warm day , everything very well organized. The tour is highly recommended.

An unforgettable day – perfectly organised from start to finish What a brilliant day. Everything was so well organised, from the clear and helpful communication beforehand to the smooth logistics on the day itself. Not long after getting on the boat we were lucky enough to spot dolphins, and it wasn’t long before we were in the water snorkelling. We saw large sea turtles, schools of fish, and then had the incredible experience of dolphins swimming around us – absolutely unforgettable. Lunch was much better than expected, served in a beautiful setting with friendly local service and delicious food. We finished the day heading back to the port via an interesting cave, arriving home around 10 hours after we left. Honestly, we couldn’t fault it. Swimming with turtles and dolphins will live long in the memory. Highly recommended.

This was one of the best experiences in Mombasa. We really enjoyed the service, pick up from home to Shimoni, the boat crew, lunch everything was superb.

We went with an extended family group ranging from 75 years old to 4 years old. Pickup from hotel was good and we got on the boat ok. The boat is a traditional dhow with tarps providing decent cover from the sun. We got a bit of dry plain cake and a cup of juice, I think the cups were clean at the start but as the day progressed, if you asked for a drink, you got whichever cup they laid their hand on, they certainly weren't cleaned from customer to customer. We got issued with snorkelling gear, which was pretty worn, again I assume it was cleaned before we got it but it seemed a bit grubby and we all used cleaning wipes to try to improve it. Although we had checked that their would be suitable gear for our kids, they had limited options and the masks weren't a great fit for our youngest, luckily we had his swimming goggles with us, the fins again were a poor fit with unsuitable options for the kids. The snorkelling itself was pretty haphazard, we stopped at the crowded snorkelling site and all jumped in and it was very hard to keep together as a group or to see where our guide was, there were so many other groups that it would have been very easy to get lost. The snorkelling itself was limited, the reef seems to be in poor condition and not a great abundance of fish or colourful corals. Very hard to distinguish where our boat was as the current moved us along quite quickly and there were so many other boats about of similar style. I didn't see the staff counting people on or off the boat at all and I think it was pure luck and clients efforts that ensure no one is left behind. On the way back in the boat we saw some dolphins which was cool. We had no information as to what type of fish or corals we might see during the snorkelling. We had lunch at the island which was nice, though make sure you do not ask for an extra bit of chicken (there was plenty there) or you will be scolded. My father said when asked that he didn't want the seaweed dish but was told to try it anyway and got some plonked on his plate (I think this was he guy that owned the outfit). To get onto the island you get into a small dingy and they bring you to a cool cave entrance. It's cool to look at, but with the waves pounding up against the coral type rock and the boat moving up and down and in and out as you try to get off it is pretty sketchy. It was worse trying to get off the island again as you are jumping down into the boat and trying to keep your feet. Not really suitable for the 75 year olds or 4 year old that we had with us. Packed into the dingy like sardines we had to crash through a few waves before getting back to the dhow and they took us back to the mainland. It doesn't take much imagination to see how a disaster could happen if you met a wave slightly side on or mistimed your jump into the boat off the rocks. I've got my padi licence and have dived and snorkelled in a number of locations but was glad I didn't book a dive here as the safety was so inadequate for snorkeling, I'd hate to see what the diving is like. I've read a load of the other reviews and the owners don't seem to take any criticism seriously, always blaming the reviewer and saying that they are slandering them etc. No doubt the response from the operators to my review will be the same.